If you're going to Kansas City, regardless of the reason for your visit, you have to get barbecue.
There are all sorts of places you can hit up, with Arthur Bryant's and Gates serving as the longtime favorites and Q39 recently cracking the market. After consulting with friends and online reviews, I went to Joe's. Joe's is located in Kansas City, Kansas, or KCK, in an old gas station.
Keeping with tradition, I got the burnt ends, a Kansas City staple. They're pieces cut from the end of the brisket. The combination of flavors with just the right amount of smokiness made the 30-minute wait in near-100 degree heat worthwhile. For the record, most of that wait was spent in shade, and Joe's also had a big water cooler next to the line of people. Once you get inside, the line continues, but there's a conveniently placed beer stand next to the line. You can order one, drink it while you wait and then get another with your food.
The sides were also top-notch. I couldn't believe how huge the serving of fries was. I had enough that I brought some back to the hotel as leftovers.
It was Alex Gordon Day at Kauffman, with a pregame ceremony to honor the end of the longtime left fielder's career. His final game was played in front of an empty stadium in 2020, and the ceremonies served as a chance to give him a proper send-off.
I was surprised that attendance was similar to Friday night's game. I was expecting a packed crowd, but they ended up drawing in 24,616, 296 fewer fans than Friday. Still, those who did show up were certainly happy to recognize Gordon. The ceremony mostly consisted of the team presenting Gordon with tickets to attend events he wasn't able to as a player, such as the Masters, Kentucky Derby and Indianapolis 500. They also commemorated the 2015 Championship, with Jarrod Dyson, who scored the go-ahead run in the decisive Game 5, bringing the trophy out. Finally, Gordon threw out the ceremonial first pitch, but he did so from left field. Without any warmups, he managed to deliver a one-hopper to the plate.
The game started a pattern that would last throughout much of the trip, with lots of scoring and dramatic late comebacks. Detroit jumped out to an early 5-0 lead on a Jeimer Candelario three-run homer and went up 6-0 in the fifth, but a Salvador Perez three-run homer chased Casey Mize and cut the lead to 6-4. Kyle Funkhouser had been an effective piece in the Tigers bullpen for much of the year, but he imploded on this night, allowing five runs. Carlos Santana hit a go-ahead three-run homer off him, and after Funkhouser allowed two more baserunners to reach, Hanser Alberto hit a two-run pinch-hit triple off Ian Krol. Detroit made one last push against Greg Holland, with Akil Baddoo's two-run homer cutting the lead to 9-8, and back-to-back walks put the tying and go-ahead runs on base. With very few options left in his bullpen, Mike Matheny turned to Wade Davis (which made no sense when Scott Barlow was available), who threw it back to 2015 by striking Candelario out to end the game.
With impressive food and beer variety and a fun crowd, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at Kauffman, but leaving Saturday's game was a pain. While getting a Lyft back to my hotel on Friday was no issue, it took me 40 minutes to get a ride on Saturday. The combination of a stadium located away from other attractions and a game that ended right when lots of people were starting to go out (the final out was recorded at 9:35 p.m.) made it extremely difficult to get a ride.
I did luck out when returning to my hotel, though. With one of the places I had hoped to visit closing up early for the night, I popped into the bar located across the parking lot from my hotel, Helen's JAD (Just Another Dive). The bar had both FS1 and FS2, meaning I had a place to watch Australian football. It was a fun spot to enjoy the first half of Geelong's win over Richmond.
States visited: Kansas (first time), Missouri
Counties collected: Johnson County, KS; Wyandotte County, KS
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